Houston almost sunk by miscues

Coming off of three consecutive losses, the Dynamo were
hoping to turn things around after the World Cup break. Two defensive
mistakes, however, cost Houston a much-needed three points at home on Saturday, as
they tied the Colorado Rapids 2-2 at Robertson
Stadium.

“[There were] some positives and
negatives,” said midfielder Danny Cruz. “We broke the losing streak, so
that’s important; that being said, we wanted to come out with three
points at home. But we take a point and look forward to Thursday against
Toronto.”

Houston talked at the break about fixing its leaks in
defense. On Saturday night, it was a poor turnover by Eddie Robinson and a ball
deflecting into the net off of Lovel Palmer that doomed the Dynamo.

“No
excuses, I let the team down tonight,” said a frank Robinson. “The
effort that [my teammates] have put in these last two weeks to try to
turn things around, and for me to make a mistake like that, it’s like me
punching them. It’s disappointing, and mentally it’s tough.”

“We
were doing fine until the huge mistake right before halftime,” said
coach Dominic Kinnear. “We were well in control of the game and not
giving up chances and keeping possession of the ball. It really turned
the game around, and it took us a while to recover.”

The defense
has now given up 11 goals in its last four MLS games, a disturbing
trend for a team that prides itself on a total team defensive effort.
Houston is now tied with the expansion Philadelphia
Union for conceding the second most goals in MLS.

While the
mistakes have to be frustrating, there were some positives on the night.
Danny Cruz continued to impress, as he scored a goal and was unlucky not
to have another as one shot somehow hit off both posts without crossing
the line. Joseph Ngwenya also got
his first start of the year, played well, and converted a goal
himself. Both players contributed to Houston controlling more of the
ball than they had in their three consecutive losses.

“I thought
we did some pretty good things tonight [offensively],” said Brad Davis. “We moved the ball pretty well.”

However, it was Houston’s ability to battle back to earn a draw
despite conceding the second goal late that might be the biggest
positive on the night.

“The way things are going, it’s good
that we showed some fight and walked away with a point,” said midfielder
Corey Ashe. “It’s a good
point, and we battled back.”

“We still fought to the end, got a
good goal, and got a point when we could have put our heads down,” added
Davis. “If we can just eliminate the mistakes and make other teams beat
us, we will turn things around.”

Dwain Capodice is a
contributor to MLSsoccer.com. Questions or comments can be
sent via email to dwaincapodice@gmail.com.